It was a rough few days last month for The Vampire Diaries executive producer Julie Plec and actor Matt Davis, and probably rougher still for actress Kat Graham, who plays Bonnie Bennett. Starting with Davis’ dismissive response concerning a recently deceased fan after her battlewith cancer, the day only got worse when Plec got into it with a fan after being asked why the writers can’t give Bonnie a love interest who isn’t her step-brother.

Fandom never takes well to being talked down to by creators and, while this was bad enough, Davis insisted on having the last word, via his own Twitter. Picture Plec as Elena, and Davis as, well, Alaric … or any of the other men who consistently come rushing to her aid short of reason and with half a plan. The result was just about as successful as anything that would have played out on the show.

And then when it was speculated that Bonnie’s treatment on the show might stem from her status as a POC, Davis–once again half cocked–fired back:

Kat Graham is of Black and Jewish descent, as Davis so kindly reminded fans while completely missing the point of the argument. His wild insensitivity and ignorant–if not blatantly racist–comments prompted some fans to call for a boycott of watching the show’s March 22 episode live or through DVR recordings. Not to have the show cancelled, mind you, but to show through a dip in the ratings that the fans would not tolerate this sort of treatment from the show’s writers and actors.

With that in mind, your resident Racialicious TVD obsessees, Jordan and Kendra, sat down for a short chat on how this exchange colored our view of the episode and Bonnie Bennett.

Race, Culture, and Identity in a Colorstruck World

About This Blog

Racialicious is a blog about the intersection of race and pop culture. Check out our daily updates on the latest celebrity gaffes, our no-holds-barred critique of questionable media representations, and of course, the inevitable Keanu Reeves John Cho newsflashes.

Latoya Peterson (DC) is the Owner and Editor (not the Founder!) of Racialicious, Arturo García (San Diego) is the Managing Editor, Andrea Plaid (NYC) is the Associate Editor. You can email us at team@racialicious.com.